Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Back to School Grays

Back to SchoolRecently, my children went back to school. While my husband and I are cheering, our son has been gray, since school is obviously not as much fun as hanging out with friends all Summer.

Grays might seem blah, but when you are working with a limited color palette, you can't underestimate the power of grays.

Working with graysCopic makes 46 shades of gray. Each shade is used for a specific purpose...Cool Grays are very blue-toned, and useful for shadows and metal.Neutral Grays are neutral and good for generic gray things or for storyboarding.Toner Grays are slightly warm, but not too warm.Warm Grays are very warm and earth-toned, great for wooly or earthy things.

Working with limited colorsPeople frequently ask me, what are the best colors to start with when collecting Copics. I always answer that it depends what you are going to be coloring. If you color people, then go for skin tones and build from there. If you enjoy nature, then start with greens and browns. However, you may have only a few colors from each family and feel that your artwork has no depth until you get more colors.

This problem can be solved if you have a few grays. My first two markers I got after the 12 basic marker set I started with were two shades of gray. This instantly multiplied those 12 colors into twice as many options.

Here is a girl who is heading back to school. I started by laying down a C5 to mark my shadows. You may think this is too dark to start, but an interesting quality of Copic markers, is that any lighter color can push a darker color out of the way, so this C5 will lighten up as we layer colors over it.

I tried to keep all my shadows consistent, so you can easily tell that the light is coming from the upper right. (For more ideas on shadow placement, run a search on "shadows" on this blog using the search bar at the top.)

Usually when layering grays it is a good idea to match gray type to color family. However, I have limited colors, and I only have this one gray. That is OK. Shadows tend to cool down, as the sun is not hitting them directly. Skin would usually be a warm brown, but, it is OK to add a cool color in the shadow of skin, so I frequently add blue or purple into my skin shadows. Cool gray is cool, so that will be fine to use to accent the colors in the shadows.

Now that I have planned out my shadows, I can layer my limited colors. Since I like drawing people, I have a good range of skin tones. I start by adding E000 over all skin areas, including the gray colored parts. then, over the gray shadows, I added E11 and E04. See how much lighter the gray is now?

I colored her bag and shoes with E15 and E19. I colored the paper sack with the E11 I used on her skin.

Last, I colored all the other areas of her with my limited colors.

I colored her hair with Y21, Skirt with R83, and her shirt with BV13. I lost some of the shadows when I colored the shirt with BV13, so I went back with my gray and darkened those areas again.

As you can see, using a gray helps cut back on the colors you need to own when starting out your collecting. In total, I used 1 gray, 5 browns, 1 yellow, 1 blue-violet, and 1 pink. The 1 gray meant that I did not need a darker shade of yellow, pink, or blue-violet. If I had colored her book bag purple, then I could have eliminated 2 browns as well.

She doesn't look too bad, in my opinion.

Enter our coloring contest!For a blank image of this girl to download, and to see another way to color her, please visit our Copic blog. There you will also find information on how to enter this month's coloring contest via Facebook and copiccolor.com

Not a member of Copic Color yet? Now is the time to register and see what people are making with Copic markers. Registration is free and easy!

About Me

I am the North American Product Director for Copic Markers, working at Imagination International, Inc. I have written 4 books on coloring with Copics in conjunction with Colleen Schaan. I used to design stamps for Our Craft Lounge. The things I post on this blog are my personal opinions or techniques I have come across over the years- I will try to give credit where credit is due. These ramblings do not necessarily reflect the general opinions of Copic Markers/Imagination International Inc.
my direct e-mail is marianne@copicmarker.com

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Copic Glossary

ABS/Airbrush System- Copic Airbrush System. Works with either a compressor or Copic aircans. Uses either Sketch or Copic Markers. 1234TroubleshootingAlcohol Markers- Copic markers are alcohol (ethanol) based dye markers, that are known for being low-odor and giving smooth, vibrant colors. Since they are a dye, they will fade in bright lights, but they are acid free on most surfaces. Anything with alcohol in it will react with these inks. Any Copic marker type is refillable with replaceable tips. They will not cause paper to pill when going over it many times, nor will they dissolve photocopies.

Color Saturation- This is the first digit on a color name. Colors that are 00's, 10's, or 20's will be more vibrant (B05, G16, R29), while colors that are in the 70's, 80's or 90's have more gray added (B95, BG78, G94) and are closer to the neutral/earthy end of the color spectrum. Note: E (Earth) markers don't necessarily follow this rule.

Color Group- A sequential group of colors within one color family with the same first digit (i.e. E30, E31, E33, E34, E35, E37, E39) where numbers ending in 0 are the lightest and 9 is the darkest, also called Natural Blending Group

Copic Certification- These are classes for teachers, store owners, or designers who want to learn techniques and advanced tips on using Copic markers, Airbrushing, etc. for papercrafting. Each class is about 7 hrs, and will be held regionally. Check here for listings of upcoming classes.

Spica Glitter Pens - also called atyou Spica pens. These fun, pigment based pens are filled with micro glass flakes, giving a very subtle, elegant sparkle. Keep stored flat, though if they are giving you troubles, try storing them point down overnite.

Various Ink- Also called Refill Ink or Re-inkers. Each bottle holds 25 cc's of ink. 322 colors available, empty bottle for mixing custom colors also available. Great for making alcohol ink effects, such as Faux Stone or covering large areas. When you see streaking in your work it's time to refill. You can refill directly from your bottle of ink, or you can use a booster needle. Try not to overfill.For refilling dry markers:Ciao- add 1 to 1.5 cc's ink Sketch- 2 cc's Copic 2-3 cc's Wide 3-4 cc's

Using this site for Classes

The content from each post is intended as tutorials and directions as well as useful information. If you would like to use these tutorials in a workshop you are more than welcome to, just give credit to this blog site and other suppliers mentioned in each post.

Thank You!

Marianne

Color Disclaimer

Colors on the screen do not match colors printed in color charts, and neither will match the marker colors in real life. To get a feel of what the colors will look like it's best if you get an actual color swatch.

To request a printed color chart, general catalog, Stamping with Copic Brochure, or Airbrushing with Copic Brochure you can e-mail orders@copicmarker.com (remember, printed charts aren't accurate)

Save a tree, get it digital!For digital copies of the above brochures please look through the Copic Library. Don't see what you need? e-mail me at marianne@copicmarker.com

Check the library also for refilling guides, airbrushing set-ups, and other useful literature.

Click here to purchase your favorite Copic Products

Books by Marianne Walker

These books are stand alone guides for anyone who wants to learn more tricks for coloring with their markers. All images to color are in the back of the book, along with color charts and guides. Each book is printed in English and Español SRP $9.95

Shadows & Shading: A beginner's guide to lighting placementThis book is for teaching you where to accurately put shadows and highlights when coloring with any medium. Includes clear lighting guides to help you plan where to place your shadows & highlights. Distributed by Copic/Imagination International, Inc.